Leg brace for folding tables



Dec. 12, 1939. w. A. GR1Es D|EcK 2,183,070

LEG BRACE FOR FOLDING TABLES Filed June 28, 1939 Patented Dec. 12, 19392,183,0'iii LEG BRACE FOR FOLDING TABLES William A. Griesedieck, St.Louis, Mo.

Application June 28, 1939, Serial No. 281,641

6 Claims.

This invention relates to folding tables and more particularly to bracesfor legs of such tables.

An object of the invention is to provide a brace for a folding leg of atable with simple means for securing the brace in position when the legis extended, and which can be displaced readily when it is desired tofold the leg. According to this invention a sleeve or sheath is providedwhich will fall into position and hold the brace and the leg in extendedposition, so arranged that upon upturning the table, or simply slidingthe sheath upwardly, the leg may be folded without further manipulation.An object may be said to be, therefore, the provision of a brace whichwill require the minimum amount of manipulation in folding and unfoldingthe leg to which it is attached.

Fig. l is an end elevation showing the brace with a section of a tabletop and a leg with the leg in extended. position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing the leg partly folded;

Fig. 3 is an edge view showing the brace in position similar to that ofFig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a section on line i-- i, Fig. 1.

A leg I is pivoted by a pin 2 to a table top 3. The arrangement is suchthat the leg may be moved to extended position, as shown in Fig. l, tosupport the table or may be folded as shown in Fig. 2 to lie against thesuface of the top.

The brace and fastening means comprise four parts: a ball crank lever Apivoted to the leg by a screw 5; a collar 6 pivoted by a pin '0 to theelbow of the lever i; a brace or bar 8 sliding in the collar 6 andpivoted to the table top; and a sheath or sleeve 9 sliding on the bar 8.l

The bell crank lever 4 has one arm adjacent the leg l and through whichthe screw 5 extends for pivotally securing the lever to the leg. Thelever also has a free arm it) adapted, when the leg is extended as shownin Fig. l, to lie along and adjacent the bar 8. The arm H! has at itsend an extended lip H adapted to engage in a notch 52 on the bar 8 tolimit the movement of the lever when the leg is extended and after thefree arm has been brought into alignment with the bar 8.

The bar 8 has a pin or abutment l3 at its lower end to engage the end ofthe collar t when the leg is extended.

It may now be explained that as the leg l is extended to perpendicular,the pin or abutment l3 will strike the end of the collar 6 to turn thebell crank lever 4 toward the position shown in Fig. 1, with the lip llengaging in the notch it. In this position the arm iii of the lever 4lies along and adjacent the bar ii, so that the arm it) may be engagedby the sleeve ii sliding on the bar 8.

It will be apparent that in the absence of the sleeve 9 a movement ofthe leg i in a clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. iwill cause the lever i to turn on the pivot l in a counterclockwisedirection. That is to say, starting with the leg in its extendedposition, as shown in Fig. l, a movement of the leg i to the left willcause the lever to turn on its pivot l (with respect to the collar 6 andthe bar 8) so as to bring the lip i l out of engagement with the notchiii. A further movement of the leg will cause the bar 8 to slide in thecollar 6 so that the leg I may be folded flush against the table top. Inextending the leg, the bar 8 will slide in the collar 6 until the pin orabutment it comes into engagement with the bottom edge of the collar 6so as to rotate the lever t in a clockwise direction, forcing the lip i!in the notch l2 and bringing the arm it of the lever t into parallelposition or alignment with the bar 8.

When the arm it is parallel with the bar 8, as it Will be when the lip Hlies in the notch i2, the sleeve 9 may be moved manually or be allowedto drop over the arm and thus hold it in place, thus securing the leg Iin extended position.

The sheath or sleeve 9 does not completely surround the bar 8 but has aslot between its spaced edges i i and l 5 to accommodate the lip l i Thecollar 6 has a lug l6 turned outward with respect to the bar 8, orinward with respect to the table, to engage the outer edge of the arm Itto limit the extent of the rotation of the lever a with respect to thecollar 6. By this means the outer movement of the arm it is limited asillustrated in Fig. 2. Further movement of the lever 4 about the pin 1in a counterclockwise direction is restrained by engagement of theoutturned lug It with the edge of the arm it.

It may now be understood that as the leg I is rotated to extendedposition the bar 8 and the arm ii! are placed in a condition toaccommodate the sleeve s. When the leg i is moved to extended positiongravity will cause the sleeve 9 to fall into lowermost position to holdthe parts in bracing relationship. When it is desired to fold the leg,the table may be upturned, in which case the sleeve 9 will fall awayfrom holding position and a simple movement of the leg will cause allthe lit parts to function without the necessity of manipulation. Or, ofcourse, the sleeve 9 may be moved manually to or away from holdingengagement.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that the inventionaccomplishes its objects; that a brace and securing means has beenprovided which may be operated with a minimum of manipulation, in factno manipulation at all if the table is turned so as to permit gravity tomove the holding sleeve. Various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction, within the scope of the appended claims, Without departingfrom the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a table having a top and a leg pivoted to the top, a brace for theleg comprising a bar with one end pivoted to the top, a bell crank leverhaving one arm pivoted to the leg and a free arm adapted to bepositioned adjacent and in alignment with the bar when the leg isextended, a collar pivoted at an elbow of the lever and providing aslide for the bar, a sleeve about the bar adapted also to engage and tohold said free arm when said free arm is in alignment with the bar, andan abutment on the lower end of the bar for moving the lever to bringsaid free arm into alignment with the bar.

2. In a table having a top and a leg pivoted to the top, a brace for theleg comprising a bar with one end pivoted to the top, a bell crank leverhaving one arm pivoted to the leg and a free arm adapted to lie adjacentthe bar when the leg is extended, a collar pivoted at an elbow of thelever and providing a slide for the bar, a lug on the collar to engagean edge of the lever and thereby limit the relative movement of thelever and the collar, and a sleeve about the bar adapted also to engageand to hold said free arm when the leg is extended.

3. In a table having a top and a leg pivoted to the top, a brace for theleg comprising a bar with one end pivoted to the top, a bell crank leverhaving one arm pivoted to the leg and a free arm adapted to lie adjacentthe bar when the leg is extended, a collar pivoted at an elbow of thelever and providing a slide for the bar, and releasable means forsecuring the free end of the lever to the bar when the leg is extended.

4. In a table having a top and a leg pivoted to the top, a brace for theleg comprising a bar with one end pivoted to the top, a bell crank leverhaving one arm pivoted to the leg and a free arm adapted to lie adjacentthe bar when the leg is extended, a collar pivoted at an elbow of thelever and providing a slide for the bar, a lip on the free arm of thelever adapted to engage in a notch in the bar and thereby limit themovement of the lever, and a sleeve about the bar adapted also to engageand to hold said free arm when the lip is in the notch as aforesaid.

5. In a table having a top and a leg pivoted to the top, a brace for theleg comprising a bar with one end pivoted to the top, a bell crank leverhaving one arm pivoted to the leg and a free arm adapted to bepositioned adjacent and in alignment with the bar when the leg isextended, a collar pivoted at an elbow of the lever and providing aslide for the bar, means for limiting the movement of the bar throughthe collar and to bring the free arm into alignment with the bar, asleeve about the bar adapted also to engage and to hold said free armwhen the arm is in alignment with the bar, and means for limiting themovement of the lever when the free arm is brought into alignment withthe bar.

6. In a table having a top and a leg pivoted to the top, a brace for theleg comprising a bar with one end pivoted to the top, a bell crank leverhaving one arm pivoted to the leg and a free arm adapted to bepositioned adjacent and in alignment with the bar when the leg isextended, a collar pivoted at an elbow of the lever and providing aslide for the bar, an abutment on the lower end of the bar for movingthe lever to bring said free arm into alignment with the bar,

a sleeve about the bar adapted also to engage and to hold said free armwhen the arm is in alignment with the bar, and a lip on the free end ofthe lever adapted to engage in a notch in the bar for limiting themovement of the lever.

WILLIAM A. GRIESEDIECK.

